$1,100 Main Event
Day 1a Started
HPT Daytona Beach
$1,100 Main Event
Day: 1a
HPT Daytona Beach Main Event Kicks off Today!
The Heartland Poker Tour stop at the Daytona Beach Racing and Card Club has now seen a week of action pass by, playing five of the seven total events listed with the highly anticipated $1,100 Main Event slated to start today at 2:10 p.m. local time.
Last years HPT main event, here in Daytona Beach, FL saw a total of 414 players jump into the action for a shot of the title, and it was Daniel Silva reigning supreme by days end for a hefty $91,557. Silva outlasted the likes of Hyndi Khomutetsky in a heated heads-up battle that ended in her taking runner-up for a respectable $56,527.
The first of three starting flights will kick off today at 2 p.m. and all players will be starting the day with 30,000 in chips. Each level on Day 1 is 40 minutes in length, with a 15- minute break scheduled every three levels (every two hours of play) and a 45-minute dinner break after level 9 (roughly 8:30 p.m.).
The late registration and rebuy period will remain open until the end of dinner break (start of level 10) and players who may jump in until this time. Play will continue until either 15 levels are completed or until 13% of the field remains, whichever comes first. The stopping point on Day 1a will determine the stopping point on the subsequent flights and the re-start point for Day 2 play. Players are allowed to enter multiple flights, taking their best stack forward to Day 2.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be bringing you all of the updates from HPT Daytona Beach Racing and Card Club, so stay tuned as the action unfolds.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
The Heartland Poker Tour $1,100 Main Event has now had the tournament director instruct dealers to shuffle up and start pitching the cards.
Hawkins Takes a Seat
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
A well-known has taken a seat in Maurice Hawkins here in the Daytona Beach Main Event.
Hawkins boasts over $4 million in live career earnings and has one HPT main event title to his name after he took down the HPT St. Charles last year for $ 113,322.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
John McConnell Kicks Off HPT Daytona Beach with Monster Stack Victory
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is at the Daytona Beach Racing and Card Club to live report the $1,100 Main Event, but this is just one of several tournaments on the HPT Daytona Beach schedule. For the past week, the venue had played host to a series of side events, and we wanted to take a moment to recognize the lucky winners from those tournaments.
For example, Event #1: $250 Monster Stack attracted 285 runners and offered up a $58,995 prize pool. Among those to get a piece of it but fall short of the final table were Dewayne Snipes (10th - $1,150), Thomas Poulton (13th - $844), Sied Zamiri (16th - $737), Karl Sirotkin (20th - $661), Gary Swaney (26th - $651), and Herbert Turner (30th - $651).
In the end, John McConnell of Montverde, Florida bested Vero Beach’s Trent Smith in heads-up play to win the title and $13,574 top prize.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John McConnell | Montverde, Florida | $13,574 |
| 2 | Trent Smith | Vero Beach, Florida | $8,672 |
| 3 | Charles Bell | Deland, Florida | $5,811 |
| 4 | George Hemphill | N/A | $4,100 |
| 5 | Howard Page | Ontario, Canada | $3,068 |
| 6 | Gary Boone | Titusville, Florida | $2,478 |
| 7 | Steven Schween | Port Orange, Florida | $2,065 |
| 8 | Bill Eggerton | Port Orange, Florida | $1,711 |
| 9 | Barry Gallagher | Jacksonville, Florida | $1,481 |
Notables to Start the Day
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
Hawkins Drops Two with Cowboys
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Maurice Hawkins limped from the cutoff and Johnathan Nader raised to 1,000 on the button. A player in the big blind moved all in for 3,300 and Hawkins flatted.
Nader announced all in for around 29,000, Hawkins instantly called and the three tabled their hands.
Big Blind: 
Johnathan Nader: 
Maurice Hawkins: 
The board ran out 
and Hawkins took down the pot with his cowboys, sending two players out the door early in the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
64,000 | 34,000 |
|
Busted |
Event #2: $165 No-Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Ends in Three-Way Deal
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is at the Daytona Beach Racing and Card Club to live report the $1,100 Main Event, but this is just one of several tournaments on the HPT Daytona Beach schedule. For the past week, the venue had played host to a series of side events, and we wanted to take a moment to recognize the lucky winners from those tournaments.
In Event #2: $165 No-Limit Hold’em Deep Stack, 109 runners created a $15,260 prize pool that was paid out to the top 13 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Thomas Poulton (10th - $382), Sonya Eggerton (11th - $343), Salvador Ramos (12th - $343), and Robert Sherrock (13th - $343).
The tournament came to an end when the top three players opted to chop. Erik Schmidt, who hails from Burlington, North Carolina, claimed the title and $3,225 in prize money while the Gary Bates took home $3,223 for second and Roger Stewart $2,555 for third.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Schmidt | Burlington, North Carolina | $3,225* |
| 2 | Gary Bates | N/A | $3,223* |
| 3 | Roger Stewart | Sanford, Florida | $2,555* |
| 4 | Joseph Larking | Ormond Beach, Florida | $1,351 |
| 5 | Enrique Cruz | N/A | $1,015 |
| 6 | Larry Richie | Coral Springs, Florida | $839 |
| 7 | Jeff Sanders | Rockledge, Florida | $687 |
| 8 | Jim Quigley | N/A | $534 |
| 9 | James Baune | Orlando, Florida | $420 |
*Denotes three-way deal